Brightest MagLite upgrade? K2 at 6.5W, 130Lumens?

etc

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 19, 2004
Messages
5,777
Location
Northern Virginia
Cannot find any hits on this - is there any truth to the claim? Who offers K2/6.5W/130 Lumens?

Are 130 Lumens for real?
 

AlexGT

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 15, 2001
Messages
3,651
Location
Houston, Texas
If you want the brightest wait until someone puts a CREE led in one, it should stomp the K2

Just my .02
AlexGT
 

etc

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 19, 2004
Messages
5,777
Location
Northern Virginia
Is someone going to make a drop-in replacement module, or will I have to mod my unit?

I want better heat sink, too. One would think that the Cree would generate more heat?
 

Jahn

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Nov 29, 2005
Messages
5
AlexGT said:
If you want the brightest wait until someone puts a CREE led in one, it should stomp the K2

Just my .02
AlexGT

i think this is what i'm going to do - stick with ye olde incandescent on my spankin' new 3D Maglite until someone shoehorns a Cree onto a maglite package.
 

SuperTorch

Enlightened
Joined
Oct 9, 2006
Messages
335
Location
Oklahoma
Yea and the Cree XR-E should rock in a 2 D Cell light, which is what I want. Hope it doesn't take 6 months.
 

ElektroLumens

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 5, 2001
Messages
1,565
Location
Cottage Grove, Oregon, USA
etc said:
Cannot find any hits on this - is there any truth to the claim? Who offers K2/6.5W/130 Lumens?

Are 130 Lumens for real?



It's very simple to put a K2 Luxeon LED into a Mag.

I've got some Cree XR-E's, and will be doing testing with them next week when I get some (hopefully) optics that work with them.

The Cree XR-E does look promising, to use in a 2D Mag with a boost circuit. I've done a lot of Mag mods, but have never offered a 'drop in'. It would be easy for me to do so, though.

Wayne
 

JoeSnuffyII

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Sep 17, 2006
Messages
7
ElektroLumens said:
It's very simple to put a K2 Luxeon LED into a Mag.

I've got some Cree XR-E's, and will be doing testing with them next week when I get some (hopefully) optics that work with them.

The Cree XR-E does look promising, to use in a 2D Mag with a boost circuit. I've done a lot of Mag mods, but have never offered a 'drop in'. It would be easy for me to do so, though.

Wayne


A Cree for a Mag......please do it Wayne....
 

hawkz

Newly Enlightened
Joined
Dec 11, 2005
Messages
98
Location
San Diego
Wayne, I think it's cruel to tell us that it would be easy for you to do a Cree drop-in. Don't tell us. DO IT already.
 

Gene43

Enlightened
Joined
Sep 2, 2006
Messages
835
Location
South Alabama
I build Maglite U00 K2 conversions. Been selling them on Ebay for a few months now. They are very bright and and on a clear night will light a telephone pole that's 800 feet from my driveway. The driver I built outputs 1600ma on alkalines or 2100ma on nimh. I have no way to measure the actual lumen output, but based strictly on observation they are atleast as bright as my MagCharger or a luxeon V. A lot of people don't like the k2, but I love them!


Thanks, Gene
 

Skibane

Enlightened
Joined
Nov 26, 2002
Messages
285
Location
San Antonio
Battery Junction is pre-selling a Terralux "MaxStar 5" K2 with a claimed output of up to 135 lumens.

theshorelinemarket_1927_156546
 

Gaffle

Enlightened
Joined
Mar 10, 2006
Messages
552
Location
Garden City, MI
Skibane said:
Battery Junction is pre-selling a Terralux "MaxStar 5" K2 with a claimed output of up to 135 lumens.

theshorelinemarket_1927_156546

I thought the premade drop-ins like that weren't efficient with heat. wouldn't a good drop have to have some kind of heat sink? I have 1 2d mag and 2 4d mags sitting around the house. I haven't bought a mag led drop-in because of the heat issues.

Also, can anyone tell me if the mag reflectors have changed much? My mags are at least 5 years old, if not older. Same reflectors as the new?
 

Gene43

Enlightened
Joined
Sep 2, 2006
Messages
835
Location
South Alabama
The reflectors are the same in all C and D Maglites including LED dropins. Heat issues were what drove me to build my conversions.

Gene
 

ace0001a

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 29, 2006
Messages
1,153
Location
Sactown
The heat issue is why Mag designed their own drop-in to lower output as the temps went up. With that being said, most drop-ins are still good for the price. The output can still be decent to pretty good (depending on your opinion or preferences). I think Gene43 does a good job on his mods as I have one, but I also think you can't go wrong with the price of a drop-in either. Bottom line is they're simple to do and are generally very affordable when compared to custom mods (unless you have the knowledge to do a custom mod yourself).
 

Gene43

Enlightened
Joined
Sep 2, 2006
Messages
835
Location
South Alabama
OOps! I didn't mean to imply that the drop-ins weren't any good. Most of them are, and useful, depending on the application. It's just that with my "Tim the Toolman" anal mentality, I can never leave good alone. That's my own downfall.

Gene
 

MattK

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Dec 30, 2004
Messages
3,027
Location
Connecticut Shoreline
The primary issue with the 3W drop-ins reduction in output is because of heat soak of the LED. One of the primary advantages of the K2 over the Lux III is it's ability to run efficiently at much higher temperatures.

The new MaxStar5 TLE-6K2 will undoubtedly be significantly brighter to start than the 3W upgrades and will maintain a higher output level over the course of the battery life. The Maxstar5 outputs 100-135 lumens, typically 120 and works in any Maglite 3-6 C or D cell light and is regulated.
 

ace0001a

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Jun 29, 2006
Messages
1,153
Location
Sactown
No prob Gene, that's not how I took it either. I was just simply saying that drop-ins are usually a good buy for the money in most cases. From the info I read on this Terralux K2 drop-in, it claims it doesn't lower output due to heat issues. I guess we'll have to wait until it comes out and someone reviews it. From the picture, it does look like it uses a copper housing. Usually copper does a better job of heatsinking so just from that, I think it maybe better than other drop-ins in terms of heat management.
 

Brighteyez

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 5, 2005
Messages
3,963
Location
San Jose, CA
The reviews on the DB3-W never mentioned the drop in output either, at least not until it suddenly became an issue when Mag introduced their modules with the heat management.

As I understand it, both of the Diamond modules, the Lux III and the K2 are both direct drives with no regulation of any kind. So you won't have any heat management protection, but the benefit is that the drop in output won't be the result of heat management.

ace0001a said:
From the info I read on this Terralux K2 drop-in, it claims it doesn't lower output due to heat issues. I guess we'll have to wait until it comes out and someone reviews it. From the picture, it does look like it uses a copper housing. Usually copper does a better job of heatsinking so just from that, I think it maybe better than other drop-ins in terms of heat management.
 

Pokerstud

Enlightened
Joined
Jul 13, 2006
Messages
571
Location
Just West of the Superstitions
ElektroLumens said:
It's very simple to put a K2 Luxeon LED into a Mag.

I've got some Cree XR-E's, and will be doing testing with them next week when I get some (hopefully) optics that work with them.

The Cree XR-E does look promising, to use in a 2D Mag with a boost circuit. I've done a lot of Mag mods, but have never offered a 'drop in'. It would be easy for me to do so, though.

Wayne


:whistle: :popcorn: :wave: :twothumbs :wow: :sold: :)
 

Gene43

Enlightened
Joined
Sep 2, 2006
Messages
835
Location
South Alabama
I guess the thing I like about my conversions is that battery output determines current not heat. With the driver pumping out 2100ma the heatsink directly below the K2 never gets above 65 C, even after running for hours.

Gene
 
Top